1. Technical Field
The present invention relates in general to communication via a communication network and, in particular, to methods, systems and program products for routing calls in a heterogeneous communication network. Still more particularly, the present invention is related to custom routing calls in a heterogeneous communication network by reference to a database containing user routing preferences.
2. Description of the Related Art
Within the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) calls are routed from calling stations to called stations providing desired services based upon the dialed number. This is the so-called Dialed Number Identification Service (DNIS). For example, a caller at a calling station (e.g., a telephone or computer) may establish a voice and/or data connection to a call center providing support for a product or service by dialing the telephone number assigned to the call center.
With the proliferation of services available via the PSTN and the variety of services provided by individual service providers, one problem experienced by callers is the need to remember an ever expanding number of telephone numbers to access desired services. For example, to obtain telephonic technical support, a caller may have to remember one telephone number for regular business hours and a different second telephone number for after-hours support. Services may be assigned different telephone numbers for different days of the week, different software applications, different languages, etc. Absent the caller remembering the correct telephone number assigned to the service meeting the parameters required by the user at the time service is desired, the user will be unable to access the desired service.